What is Coving?
Coving is a method of making a layout for urban planning purposes, specifically involving the design of the placement and positioning of lots and houses in a subdivision. Coving is the term used when the lot sizes and shapes are irregular and not uniform. And when the sizes and shapes of lots are irregularly placed, the roads in between them also come in irregular shape. In this case, usually the roads are “winding” or circular in shape which typically increases the lot sizes for the homes to be built on and decreases the road size itself.

The coving method is another method of subdivision layout and an alternative to the basic and classic grid-positioning of houses and lots. In grid positioning, lots are divided in grid-like fashion, meaning they typically have the same shapes and sizes and are aligned beside each other. Roads involved in a grid type of layout typically are wider which result to more construction work in terms of road resurfacing.

A designer named Rick Harrison was said to be the first one to apply coving in designing the layout of subdivisions. The original intention was to offer better privacy for homeowners as no two windows of adjacent houses will be in direct view of each other. The term “coving” was said to be derived from the “green cove or spaces” that result from the winding layout of the roads.

Aside from privacy from irregular placement of houses, coving offers a lot more advantages. The technique is said to lessen road space and will reduce construction expenses and the cost of setting up utility lines. The winding road layout will also mean greater safety for pedestrians as there will be lesser intersections. Aesthetics also plays a great role in the coving technique, as the layout allows for a more personal space. But despite its good points, many people still prefer the regularity and simplicity of the grid-like layout.